This book was so much fun—like a romcom love letter to the bookish community wrapped in snark, steam, and a surprising amount of heart. Battle of the Bookstores had me hooked from page one with its clever twist on a familiar trope: two rival bookstore managers, one promotion up for grabs, and an anonymous online friendship that complicates everything. Think You’ve Got Mail vibes, but with a fresh, modern twist—and way more TikTok-worthy banter.

Josie and Ryan couldn’t be more opposite. She’s organized, driven, and deeply committed to her cozy, classic bookstore. He’s the charming chaos behind a popular romance shop that thrives on vibes and viral trends. When their stores merge and the two are pitted against each other for a coveted leadership role, sparks fly—in every sense of the word. Their rivalry is sharp, their chemistry electric, and their anonymous chats? Absolutely adorable.

What makes this book stand out, though, is how it layers in depth alongside all the swoon. Josie and Ryan aren’t just rivals or romantic leads—they’re complex, flawed, and relatable. I loved watching them grow as individuals while also falling for each other (even if they didn’t realize it right away). And the representation? Beautifully done. The story weaves in dyslexia, disability, and Jewish identity in ways that feel thoughtful and natural.

I also have to shout out how smartly the authors wove in real book community discourse—from genre snobbery to the power of romance novels. It felt like a wink to every reader who’s ever gotten into a heated bookish debate online.

Bottom line: if you love enemies-to-lovers, hidden identities, and stories that celebrate books and book lovers, you’re going to want to add this one to your TBR immediately. Battle of the Bookstores is witty, heartfelt, and delightfully nerdy in all the best ways.

This book solidified the reason why I love Ali Brady books! The enemies to friends to lovers, the Jewish rep, books about indie bookstores, opposites attract, the banter – all of it! I loved both characters: Josie and Brian – I mean Ryan. The relationship between them and between the side characters was wonderful to read about. What makes it even better is they felt relatable. I fell in love with all of them. I love the literary references throughout the entire story. The ending of the book was perfection! I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

Books about book lovers? They get me every time and this latest from sister author duo Ali Brady is by far my new favorite of theirs!! Two rival booksellers have to compete for a single job in this Nora Ephron style romcom full of emotional depth, laugh out loud moments and tons of heart!!

I adored the juxtaposition of literary lover Josie with romance lover Ryan who manage two side by side Boston bookstores that are going to be merged by their owner. Fans of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in You've got mail will go nuts for this romance where the two main characters become online friends who hate each other in real life.

Excellent on audio narrated by Karissa Vacker and Brandon Francis. This also has great disability rep (Ryan is dyslexic and Josie's sister uses a cane). Highly recommended for fans of Emily Henry's Book lovers or Sarah Smith's The boy with the bookstore! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

This is one of those books where I felt like kicking my feet while reading, it was so full of joy. Not just a love story between 2 relatable & authentic characters, but a love story to books and us readers! It’s is very meta and plays with several romance tropes. A lot of books and authors get named dropped, but it felt organic because it was discussion between book shop managers. I love how it was almost like the fourth wall was broken because we the reader know all these tropes and it was as if they were speaking right to us. You've Got Mail vibes (without the problematic parts), with lots of fun back and forth online messages between Josie & Ryan’s online personas.

I also appreciated the Jewish representation throughout the book, along with Alison’s note about it in their author notes. There’s also great disability and dyslexia representation as well.

Thanks so much to Berkley Romance for providing the ARC for my honest review!

Bookstore rivals with heart!

Two bookstore managers are pitted against each other in a competition where only one can win, but love has other plans. I loved the dynamic between Ryan, the cat-loving romance reader after my own heart, and Josie, the all-genres, no-nonsense bookworm.

Watching them slowly connect beneath their rival facades gave me major You've Got Mail vibes in the best way. Their chemistry was undeniable, and I was genuinely hooked trying to figure out how it could possibly work out for them both. Even as they joined forces, their dreams still seemed at odds, which kept me guessing until the final pages.

Smart, sweet, and full of heart--this is a must-read for fans of slow-burn rivals-to-lovers with emotional depth.

3.75 stars

I love a book about books, and love You've Got Mail even more, and this was a perfect blend of the two. Josie is the manager of a literary fiction bookstore, and Ryan is the manager of a romance bookstore, separated by a coffee shop in between. When their landlord decides to open up the walls between the three spaces and create one large bookstore/coffee shop instead, he pits the two against each other for the position of sole store manager. Josie is uptight and aloof, and Ryan is soft and romantic, both leaning into the stereotypes of their preferred genres even though the gender norms are reversed. While competing to see who will have the highest sales, they both are unknowingly chatting with each other on an anonymous bookseller's forum. I'll admit I preferred Josie and Ryan's online relationship over their real life one (I mean, why wouldn't I), but understood where Josie was coming from in her reluctance to open up. This was my first book from the writing duo, and while I enjoyed the premise, something about it also fell slightly flat for me. I did love the forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and texting banter, but the novelty of the gender flip wore off quickly for me and I didn't love how Ryan's height insecurities played such a large role in the story. More than anything, it was a love letter to the independent bookstore, and made me want to have my own more than ever.

Imposter by Bradeigh is one of my favorite thrillers so when I found out she was also writing romance books as half of Ali Brady I knew I had to check them out. While this was my first, I’ll definitely be working through their backlist!

Ryan and Josie are exactly what I want in an enemies to lovers. Opposites attract that have lively banter and bubbling chemistry while slowly opening up and finding a way to be vulnerable and supportive for each other.

Another layer to the story I loved is while this is a love story between Ryan and Josie it’s simultaneously a love letter to books and indie bookstores. No one understands what books mean to us quite like a fellow bookworm.

Read if you love:
❤️ Enemies to lovers
💻 Hidden identity
🌶️ Little bit of spice

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you @berkleyromance #Berkleypartner and @alibradybooks for the free book💖.

🗓️Out June 3rd, 2025

✨What it is about:
Rivalry and romance spark when two bookstore managers who are opposites in every way find themselves competing for the same promotion.✨

💭My thoughts:
The re-read of this was so good! I beta read it before the revisions, and re-reading it after the edits was SO MUCH FUN. I really liked the story the first time I read it, and now, reading the final version, I can truly say they did a fantastic job! This was written especially for everyone in this community.
This is a story perfect for the hopeless romantic, the bookworm who loves everything about books and the book community, the ones who dream of owning a bookstore, the ones whose dreams may have been derailed for a time due to unforeseen circumstances, the ones who live with a disorder or disability and sometimes suffer in silence, but still strive to not let that define them. This is a book for lovers of words and stories, for those seeking connection, and for anyone looking to belong. This story is for all of us.
Ali Brady knocked it out of the park, doing this community justice, injecting into this book all we think about, all we feel, all we say, all we enjoy, and so much more. I recommend you go preorder it right this second!💖

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
📚Boston + bookstore settings (with bookstore cats!) 🐈‍⬛ 🐈
📚Workplace rivalry
📚Opposites attract
📚Enemies to lovers
📚Online book forums/banter/epistolary elements (💌You’ve Got Mail vibes!)
📚Forced Proximity
📚Only One Bed 🛏️
📚He Falls First (and hard)🥰
📚Dual POV male/female
📚Slow burn
📚Open-door romance
📚Diverse cast of side characters including disability and LGBTQ+ rep 🏳️‍🌈
📚Very tall male main character (6’8”!)
📚Jewish rep
📚Dyslexia rep
📚Lots of love for the romance genre, romance bookstores, indie bookstores, and all bookish people in general 💖

⚠️CW: Abandonment by a parent, car accident (off the page), injury detail, sexual content.

Do you like rivals-to-lovers who own bookstores where he's the romance bookstore owner and knows how to use such knowledge garnered from reading such books? Then you're in luck because Josie and Ryan's story is adorable with all the chemistry and bookishness you could want! Real rating of a 4.5.

This was such a cute story with Josie having Ryan as a rival while balancing her friendship with a fellow anonymous indie bookseller (can you guess who?) that leads to the most adorable online conversations. Josie is a perfectionist (same) who loves literary fiction and has a bookstore with more academia vibes compared to Ryan's rivalling bright and loud romance bookstore. While they seem like polar opposites in so many ways, they can't help but check each other out every chance they got. I related so much to Josie's hyper independence and loved how she slowly learned that it's okay to let others in. Ryan was the absolute sweetest and I loved that he was the gentle giant (apparently he's pro basketball player tall) with tortoiseshell glasses and cardigans. *Swoons*

This was truly such an adorable book! While the large amounts of name dropping of actual authors was a bit jarring at first and it did take me a few chapters to really get into it, I had so much fun following Josie and Ryan's story. Despite being rivals, they found themselves helping each other more and more until they found their way to each other. The lifelong trauma thanks to bad relationships and rough childhoods had some great messages and scenes that I think a lot of readers can relate to how Josie and Ryan navigated those challenges on their own and with each other. I also found Ryan's story about growing up with dyslexia and finding refuge in a bookstore as a kid to be so heartwarming, especially with how it ties into him being a bookstore manager. This book will give you all the warm and fuzzies and wishing you had your own indie bookstore rival to fall in love with!

📚✨ I’m obsessed with the cozy, “You’ve Got Mail” vibes in Battle of the Bookstores! Enemies-to-lovers meets anonymous internet friends?? SIGN. ME. UP. 🥰💻📦

Josie is venting her new job frustrations to her anonymous book forum buddy... not knowing she’s actually ranting about him! Yep—Ryan, her rival turned boss, is unknowingly on the receiving end of her spicy takes 😂🔥 And let me just say, I was hooked from that premise alone!!

At first, the plot feels a little wild, but trust me—Brady makes it all feel so real with charming characters, witty banter, and the most fabulous side cast you’ll want as your own book club BFFs 📖🍷 The spicy, risqué book nights?! I NEED one of those in my town immediately 🙋‍♀️
Watching Ryan and Josie go from frenemies to something much more is such a satisfying slow burn 💘 They both carry emotional baggage, but their connection deepens through shared work struggles, banter, and a mutual love of books. Their growth felt natural and truly heartwarming 🫶📚

This is an opposites attract, slow-burn romance with a “he falls first” twist that had me kicking my feet with joy. If you love stories where books bring people together, Battle of the Bookstores deserves a top spot on your TBR! 💕✨

This book was exactly what my tender little heart needed. It made me cry exactly the right amount and also made me giggle and swoon and reevaluate my life choices the right amount.

Josie is SO achingly relatable - her internal (and internet) monologue so vulnerable and open in sharp contrast to her outward persona. She loves her sister fiercely and is protective of her peace, and has mostly given up on caring about what anyone has to say about it.

And Ryan is such a soft, gentle soul with his yearning for connection and genuine affection for those around him. He sees Josie’s barricades and works to show her he’s safe to lower them around - not to scale or demolish them to get close to her faster. And while they both find their online relationship easier than their face-to-face communication (at least at first 😶), it’s clear that they’re well-matched for each other in all the ways that matter.

“I cannot think of anything better than hanging out in bed with you and reading”

Me either let’s do it.

LOVED this love letter to book lovers! 🥰

Battle of the Bookstores is the ultimate comfort read. I actually stopped myself from devouring it in just a sitting or two (my usual MO) because I didn’t want it to end.

It’s a sweet romance between rival booksellers, who together overcome what’s holding them back personally and professionally for their own HEA.

Enemies to lovers, dual POV, and found family — full of hope and bookish Easter eggs. *Squeals*

Thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for access to the ARC!

#BattleoftheBookstores #NetGalley

I loved this book! I really enjoyed the way it almost broke the fourth wall the entire book. Mentioning book tropes, themes, & cliches & how they applied to the story as it progressed was so fun!

The MMC, Ryan, being the romantic one, while the FMC, Josie, is the more literal and closed off one was refreshing! This book embraced some cliches while deliberately flipping others & I ate it up.

I couldn’t put this book down. The enemies to lovers vibe is my favorite. The banter is as fun, their individual character growth was refreshing & I really enjoyed this story!

Add this to your TBR immediately. I am begging you. When this book drops, I need you to stop everything and read it. Do you hear me?

I went in with zero expectations. No one I know is talking about this book, so let me be the one to change that.

Ryan and Josie each own rival bookstores, and when their boss decides to merge the two, things take a turn. To make it worse? They’re forced to compete for the highest profits—winner gets full ownership of the new store. Now throw in a secret pen-pal twist, and I was hooked. That trope gets me every time. This book delivers the perfect mix of banter, competition, and chemistry—it’s rivals-to-lovers and workplace romance at its absolute best.

And the ending? Easily my favorite part. I was bracing myself for a classic third-act breakup, but the author took a different, more honest route that made their relationship feel raw, real, and so satisfying. Also—the spice? Flawlessly done.

If you’re not into books that reference modern authors and titles, this might not be your vibe. But if you’re looking for a story with great representation and unique characters, this one absolutely delivers.

Tropes
📚 rivals to enemies
💌 you’ve got mail vibes
📚 dual pov
💌 open door spice
📚 slow burn
💌 childhood abandonment
📚 only one bed
🐈 bookstore cats
📚 dyslexia representation

This was a cute romance. Some good spice was added in at the appropriate times. Ryan and Josie’s relationship evolved and it wasn’t insta love. As a bookseller myself I loved the commentary on the bookselling world and the authors did a good job of making it realistic other than Josie’s outfits and sky high heels. As a bookseller that is not realistic to wear sky high heels and tight pencil skirts on the daily. That was my only pet peeve of the book. The rest was realistic and the banter was cute especially the online messaging. As a reader of many genres I enjoyed the commentary on both romance books and literary fiction.
This book is perfect for the romance lover, lover of books about bookstores and booksellers.

Ali Brady is one of my favorite writing duos and I adored Battle of the Bookstores! Following two neighboring book sellers, Josie and Ryan, who are also enemies to lovers, it was very easy for me to love this book from the start.

Josie manages Tabula Inscripta, a literary fiction bookstore, while Ryan manages Happy Endings, a romance book store that are separated by a coffee shop until their landlord decides there is no need for two bookstores so close together and pits them against each other to see who can make the most sales and will become the winning manager. Chaos ensues as walls are knocked down and they invade each others personal space, while feelings start to develop between them even though they swear they are enemies competing to keep the job they love.

I loved the characters of Josie and Ryan. They both thought the only way to prove they were successful was by being the winning manager, without realizing that what they went through in life to become the manager of their stores was incredible. Josie was closed off to friendship and love because of what she saw her mom go through with her ex-boyfriends, but as she slowly let Ryan in, I liked that she saw that being vulnerable didn't mean she was going to turn into her mom and that someone could truly love her. Ryan was really sweet, allowing Josie to take her time to decide if she wanted a relationship with him. I enjoyed the Jewish representation that was sprinkled throughout, thank you Allison Hammer for that!

I have never read anything by this author, but I will be looking out for other books they write in the future. I really enjoyed the story as well as the pacing of the story.

I absolutely love Ali Brady books - and this one did not disappoint. It had all my favorites - enemies to lovers, bookstores, jewish representation, big city  with a small town feel. I just loved it all. The characters were adorable - their banter, their chemistry, the growth and change throughout the book. They were well developed and wonderful. I loved the banter and the constant connection and importance of books in the story. I felt like I actually knew the characters, that they were friends or family members and I was so upset when the book ended! Despite it being a long book, I FLEW through it - read it in less than 48 hours! This book felt like a warm hug (even when I found myself crying!) Do yourself a favor and preorder this for the summer! 
Thank you to #teamenemiestolovers for including us in the traveling ARC book tour of #battleofthebookstores. Thank you @alibrady for this opportunity. Thank you #netgalley for my advanced reader copy too!

This is a solid romance I'd recommend to fans of the category, particularly those who enjoy the two person love triangle trope found in You've Got Mail. The plot is well-paced and the characters' growth is believable. Although the set-up--rival bookstore managers forced to compete for one job--initially seemed contrived, the execution was anything but. That said, there were a few things that kept this from being a five-star read for me: the characters' immature behavior at the beginning of the book did not read as realistic and almost soured me on the entire book. Also, there's a line (you'll know it when you see it) taken directly from You've Got Mail that was just cringe. I knew it was coming, I was prepared, and it was still so cringe. I think it was supposed to be an homage to the movie but it just didn't land for me.

Thanks so much to @berkleyromance for the free book! #BerkleyPartner

I'm also grateful to Berkley's Influencer Hub for Underrepresented Voices for reaching out to reviewers like me who, like the main characters of this novel, identify as Jewish and/or disabled in some way. Personal touches like that made me feel more welcomed and connected to reviewing this novel. I hope that Hub programs like this in general will stick around and keep gaining popularity.

Battle of the Bookstores is about two rival bookstores separated by a coffeeshop, whose landlord is making both managers compete to see who can bring in the most sales by Labor Day. The winner gets to keep their job and the loser has their job and their store closed to be merged with the winner's. The twist is that the MMC Ryan Lawson is the one running the romance store, and the FMC Josie Klein is the one running the literary fiction store. The competition is heightened because the two look down on their competitor's chosen favorite genre. Highbrow vs lowbrow, tragedy vs rom-com. On top of that, the pair don't know that online they're each other's digital penpals and flirty best friends...

The Underrepresented Voices mentioned earlier that are most focused on are that Josie and the Kleins are all Ashkenazi Jewish (just like me!). The disability rep is first mentioned when Josie's sister Georgia first enters the scene using a bedazzled cane to walk between the bookshop and rides to her classes at Tufts. It is later revealed that Ryan prefers audiobooks so strongly because he is dyslexic. Though I'm disabled too, I do not specifically have either of those conditions. Though I have family and friends who do. I appreciate that their disability is not the main focus of either of their character arcs, and that they're both surrounded by plenty of supportive friends (and also love interests in Ryan's case). There are plenty of moments throughout the story where both bookstores set out to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible to all walks of life while planning each of their summer events, which is also a very nice touch.

PROS of this book:

The lighthearted and heartwarming tone.
How a recurring line in the book is the leads advocating for connecting all readers with stories they can see themselves in and thus also believe they're worthy of love...all while having a FMC that looks like me and a MMC whose struggles I can relate to.
When Josie finally realizes that Ryan is her digital crush, she agonizes over it for all of 1 page before accepting it and feeling relieved - absolutely no drawn out angst on her end.
The fallout of the competition's end is at first stressful for the couple, but they eventually figure out solutions to work around it. Again no drawn out angst.
NO Plot Mandated Third Act Breakup! Just the leads worrying that may happen due to bad luck, but in the end it doesn't.
Bonus points for being set in Boston and having lots of other New England references !! We love New England rep in this house.

CONS of this book:
As a writer myself, I get that most trad-pub books have to hit a certain word count before getting published. (I struggle with making my stories much longer, LOL.) But there were many times throughout where either of the first-person POVs felt very repetitive
The first 1/3 of the runtime was the worst offender with this. For example, it felt like the only two things the leads cared about were Books and Coffee Shops. No other hobbies or interests in their lives.
The text chat logs all seem to be about swapping book recs (although that does end up helping with The Identity Reveal later), or book (tropes) they don't like, or worrying about meeting up IRL.
In the "IRL" scenes, it felt repetitive when the leads kept having arguments after accidental misunderstandings (about very similar accidents), and then UST, and then their inner monologues.
The constant will-they-won't-they-double-identity-angst-mutual-pining can also feel like filler padding.

Overall I'm glad this book is out in the world, I just had a tough time at the start sticking through the repetitive plot beats. If you're in the mood to read a sweet and meta rom-com, this is a great place to start.

"It's not about the happy ending -- it's about believing that you're worthy of one."